WRITTEN BY HYUGA NATSU
THIS STORY IS A FICTION AND ALL NAMES OF FIGURES AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.
MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
Sounds like insects chirping.
Maomao, you should wear the fox mask too,
the one you painted earlier.
Red is usually used to line the eyes,
but green? That's an odd choice.
Kind of looks like a tanuki.
What? You look like a cat yourself, Maomao.
My hair's getting in the way.
I'll re-tie it for you.
Sit down.
It looks a bit plain…
with just the ribbon.
I do not really mind.
Then I'll lend you my hairpin,
the spiderweb one! It's super cute.
I actually have one. Can you use this?
Ooh. That's a nice one, Maomao.
It was a gift.
Hey,
if I asked you to give it to me, would you?
-No. -Boo…
If I kept quiet, it would be fine,
but Lord Jinshi is oddly good at reading expressions.
Well, before worrying about that,
I do not even know if I will get back to the capital.
-All done! -Thanks.
The festival's at the shrine outside the village.
Come on, let's go!
Maybe it is the torchlight,
but they really do look like a pack of foxes…
It feels like a whole different world, doesn't it?
Yeah.
-Kind of weird, right? -I suppose.
Though the one next to me looks more like a green tanuki.
Sometimes I see others with green paint around their eyes like Shisui.
Mostly men. I wonder if it means something.
Seems like there are lots of locusts this year.
That is why they say this year's festival has to be especially grand.
So it is to ward off misfortune.
Ground cherries do not taste good.
I know.
They are poisonous, and in the pleasure district, courtesans…
I know.
-Disgusting. -Sorry!
When you go up here, there is the shrine.
Did you know why the god worshipped here is a fox
and called the god of abundance?
No.
A long time ago, a certain people lived in this region.
Then, a different group came from the west.
Most villages drove them away,
but a few accepted them.
The people from the west had knowledge.
How to enrich the soil, how to deal with pests.
There were people in the villages who recognized that value.
But then
others came to steal the newly fertile land.
It kept happening,
so they eventually built hidden settlements deep in the forest—
to live quietly, in secret.
And the fox god?
The foxes refer to the westerners who brought that knowledge,
they were also the ancestors of this village.
The foxes here are said to be white foxes.
The masks were originally white too, right?
Adding color means
settling down and blending in with the land.
The white fox likely symbolizes pale skin.
Over time, it blends as bloodlines mix…
Wait.
I feel like I have heard this somewhere before.
The men in this village,
many of them cannot tell colors apart.
It happens with some women too, but not as often.
That explains it.
The eye corners that are usually painted red, are painted green instead.
Shisui too.
The group of Wang Mu who came to the capital,
and the white fox clan that built a hidden village
deep in the forest.
Both came from the west
and share the same roots.
You can leave your mask here, Maomao.
What do they do with them?
They burn them after offering them for a year, right?
Come on, this way!
They even have food stalls.
Yeah. Want to grab something to eat?
Only if you're treating.
Then how about some skewers?
Frog and grasshoppers, huh…
Which one do you want, Maomao? I'll have grasshoppers!
They're plump and tasty this time of year!
I'll have chicken.
No frog?
I'd rather not see one for a while.
Have you never eaten bugs before?
You don't really see them sold in the pleasure district.
I told you, that's gross.
Oops, my bad! There was a locust mixed in.
They all look the same to me.
They're totally different!
This one's delicious.
I can't tell the difference, Shisui.
Hey, look in the shrine!
A child?
That's Kyou-u. Every year, a child takes on the role of the god like that.
Oh, really.
Now that I think about it,
that brat did paint a pretty good mask.
Still, it's impressive how still he can sit.
They take turns throughout the night. Everyone wants a turn.
It becomes a special memory.
It should be time for a switch soon. Let's go wait behind the shrine.
Hey, look at this!
What the heck is this?
What's wrong?
Ah. This rice stalk's all hollow. It's the one the village chief gave us.
His field's got a patch where the rice grows really badly.
He's stingy, so he only gives us stuff from there.
-Cheapskate! -Just give up this year, yeah?
This one's better, isn't it?
Huh, really?
Yay, thanks!
Maomao, you're so kind.
Not really. No point in me keeping it.
Hey, sis!
-How'd I do? -You did great!
I wish Mom could've seen it.
He doesn't live with his mother?
Let's go watch them burn last year's masks.
Hey, what did you write for your wish?
Wish?
"If your mask burns up completely and ascends to the heavens,
your wish will come true." That's what they say.
-Didn't you write one? -I just found out.
I figured you wouldn't believe in that kind of superstition.
It's not a superstition! It totally works.
That's why last year I drew my mask carefully and wrote my wish on it.
-What did you write? -Like I'd tell you!
-Oh, right. -Look, here they come.
Kyou-u, didn't you want to play that role too?
I'm not a kid anymore. I let the others have a go.
-Such a grown-up. -Putting on a brave face, huh.
-Did you find your mask, Kyou-u? -Not sure.
I hope it burns up completely.
Wishes that cannot come true sink to the bottom…
and become nourishment for future blessings.
Insects cannot survive the winter.
They only leave behind their young…
I'm home!
You're back. Had dinner?
I'll eat!
How was the festival?
Um, well… Just as we arrived, Kyou-u was inside the shrine…
What is it?
I thought it might be time for you to fulfil your promise.
You mean the medicine to revive the dead.
Do you understand your position?
Technically, I'm a hostage,
but there are no restraints, and they treat me well.
Is it that they think I won't run? Or is there another reason.
Their behavior just doesn't sit right.
Still, what matters now is…
Fine.
You used datura and pufferfish, right? What ratio?
What else did you use? How much is the ideal dose?
And what was the condition of the revived person?
How conscious were they? Could they move right away?
I do not think datura is necessary.
Not necessary?
It was in the foreign records,
but it only prolongs unconsciousness. Probably used to make people
lose consciousness when enslaving them.
That was its original use.
I got off lightly,
but if you fail, it causes memory loss.
It still needs a lot of refinement before being tested on humans.
Feel free to use me.
I will not test it on you.
Why not! No need to hold back!
You're a hostage.
I'm glad you two get along.
You don't have many friends, do you? Either of you.
-Shut up. -Quiet.
-You're close with Shisui, aren't you? -Do I seem so?
I wanted to ask Shisui more.
Why she brought me here,
what her goals are,
who they are…?
All of these… are medicinal herbs?
Yes. I'm going out.
There are guards outside, so don't even think about running.
I doubt she'll try.
Hey, what'd you do to need guards watching you?
Maomao, breakfast's getting cold.
I'll eat later.
Come on, don't say that!
Here, get changed. I'll help.
Whoa, lazy much?
Acting all high and mighty, like Lady Shenmei.
Shenmei?
There we go!
Kyou-u, clear the dishes.
He seems like a rich kid.
Even rich kids can fall.
No guarantee he'll stay one forever.
I suppose so.
Maomao, where's the hairpin from yesterday?
By the bed.
Geez, don't just leave it lying around.
That's a nice one, you shouldn't treat it so carelessly.
Someone might steal it.
Think it'd sell for a good price?
It's not about price,
it's the craftsmanship. The patterns, the artisan's skill…
Someone in the know could probably tell who commissioned it.
So I can't sell it then.
The one who gave it to me is clingy, will probably come after it.
You'd have to melt it down for the metal.
That'd be a waste.
Feels like it's missing something.
There, all done.
You're good at this.
Of course. If I was slow, I'd get hit.
Hit?
If I couldn't give a proper massage, I'd get boiling water thrown on me.
So I had to learn quickly.
That's awful. What a terrible master.
No.
It was my mother.
I don't want you to go through scary stuff like that, Maomao. So behave, okay?
I'm going out too today.
Has it been about six hours?
Incredible. I can see all the way beyond the village.
That field… it hasn't been harvested yet.
Actually, it's still green?
Is that a rice storage next to it?
Come to think of it…
His field's got a patch where the rice grows really badly.
So that's the spot with poor growth?
And it's a perfect rectangle.
Could it be…
Hey!
What are you doing here?
Keep your voice down.
-Where's my sister? -No idea.
Ow!
Hey, do you know what that building is?
Huh? Oh, that's the old village chief's storehouse.
They built a new one with raised floors to keep rats out, so I don't think
that one's used anymore.
Can you get to it?
You're being watched, aren't you?
Well, it's not impossible.
Really? How?
Fine, I'll tell you.
I use it to sneak out of my lessons, after all!
Total brat…
What are we doing here?
There's something I want to check.
Maybe this patch didn't get enough nutrients?
-I don't think that's it. -How do you know?
This window's size matches the width of the unripe rice exactly.
That patch has been lit up at night
by the light leaking from the window.
Plants grow worse with more light?
Usually, people say sunlight helps,
but constant light, day and night, can mess up their growth cycle.
Just like how you can force plants
to bloom off-season by changing their environment.
You said there are rats here, right?
Yeah. Even with traps, they never seem to go away.
So, free specimens…
Suirei said the drug still needs refinement
before it can be tested on humans.
Makes sense.
They're testing it on small animals first.
What a shady kid.
So what's inside?
I've got a good idea.
Ugh, rats.
As I thought, this is where they've been experimenting.
Ugh, I want to take all of this.
No, now's not the time.
What's this?
Metal tubes? There's loads of them.
Why are those here?
I didn't expect this.
This is bad.
This looks just like a workshop for "Feifa."
Just like the assassins who attacked Lord Jinshi during the hunt.
Oh my?
I wonder why the door was unlocked?
Did someone forget to close it?
-There's no way. -But it was open.
Who was in charge of locking up?
Crap! It's Lady Shenmei…
How strange.
Is there a problem?
That's… the envoy from that time.
No, Lord Ayla. It was nothing.
Just my imagination…
Looks like two filthy rats
have snuck in.
Shen…
Lady Shenmei.
So this is her.
Shenmei.
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW
The next episode is "Fortress."